June 3 - Edmonton-Seattle (R)

[DarnCherry]

Games is being webcast at:

http://www.newschannel1150.com

people are chatting about it on:

http://www.sportsfansofamerica.com/Interactive/Chat/Soccer/A-League1.htm

But I suppose everybody is watching hockey.

[DarnCherry]

midway through the first Seattle up 1-0.

[DarnCherry]

Halftime, still 1-0.

[Jarrek]

The Seattle announcers bring a good point up, no one likes to play on Astroturf (Sounders game last night). I don't think the A-League should allow teams to play on it.

Whoa, just heard someone talking funny. I guess Seattle has a large Russian population

[DarnCherry]

Astroturf or poor field turf like stuff like in Minnesota last night. Apparently that SprintTurf they have is horrible, like I mention 5 Whitecaps were injured on it last night.

[Ryan Keay]

quote:Originally posted by Jarrek

The Seattle announcers bring a good point up, no one likes to play on Astroturf (Sounders game last night). I don't think the A-League should allow teams to play on it.

Didn't Seattle play on Astroturf for quite a few years? Now there's irony

[Jarrek]

Yes they did, it's unfortunate that politics stopped Memorial Stadium in Seattle from receiving a Fieldturf surface. Would have made a better venue for soccer then the cavernous QWest Field. (At least in Seattles situation)

[DarnCherry]

Memorial stadium did get a field turf surface.

[DJT]

I just tuned in now. Have they mentioned the attendance?

[DarnCherry]

No mention of it since the pregame show where they said it would be small due to the fact that Canadians are all focused on hockey.

[Jarrek]

They just announced it ...

Attendance: Enthusiastic

quote:Memorial stadium did get a field turf surface.

I'm so out of touch

[DarnCherry]

quote:Originally posted by Jarrek

I'm so out of touch

Yes, they got the fieldturf, but it doesn't help with the the fact that the rest of the stadium is run down. No doors on the crappers, bird crap all over the seats, narrow pitch, and no beer sales. At least at whatever they are calling Seahawk stadium now, there's no football lines on the field for the first 3/4 of the season.

Still it's a shame they didn't have any input on that new Fort Dent soccer complex. With some Sounders monry they coul have made the main stadium have a capacity of at least 4000 instead of the 2000 it has. Problem is in Seattle they don't seem to think a stadium that size is "big league" enough for them. Shame because they could have held their last game there and there still would have been 800 empty seats.

[Jarrek]

1-0 Final.

[DarnCherry]

Final score 1-0. Edmonton really needs a forward or anybody who can score a goal.

[Jeremy Loome]

All talent, no cohesiveness. Fraser and Chin were played as attacking fullbacks in a 3-5-2 but were exposed repeatedly. Vignivic delivers a great ball but is so slow he's losing it repeatedly.

Edmonton had a flurry of shots in the second half and really controlled the game from a ball movement point of view, but still has very little movement off the ball and is having trouble creating chances as a result. There were three good crosses in the first half, all of which failed to find anyone's head from either team, and two point blank shots, the first of which Seattle's keeper made a fantastic save on and the second of which caromed off a defender.

I'd say they created six to eight chances during the game, but had some awful luck. Additionally, Ongaro's got them playing a contain defense, which means they spend too much time trying to build out of their own end.

There's real potential here; I just think they're playing the wrong system. Lemire was making Seattle defenders look foolish all night with nifty stepovers and nutmegs and created three shots for himself out of nothing, but he can't finish for a free breakfast. They should play him in the hole.

Lots to work on but lots of talent and lots of promise. In the two games I've seen live, Edmonton has looked the far more talented squad, but has very little cohesion; against Minnesota last weekend, they were repeatedly undone by fairly standard manoeavres like pinching in the wingers and having fullbacks overlap; and Seattle quickly realized Fraser can't defend, giving them multiple breaks off the ball.

Attendance was poor but not bad given the game coincided with game five of the finals. I'd hate to hazard a guess but I'd say it was two or three thousands, with many teenagers. And cripes those kids were loud; they gave them inflatable noise makers and there were a few moments where you might as well have been watching a game somewhere in south america.

[Cheeta]

Bit of a rough start to the season I'd say.

At least when you consider how high hopes were when the whole project was announced not so very long ago. Don't think anything has realy played out entirely as hoped.

Not trying to be overly critical or anything. Just it seems the whole adventure started all hugs and kisses and new found hopes for soccer in Alberta and things have since sort of gone more the way of the other A-League ventures.

Didn't this all start out looking absolutely professional? An almost guarenteed success story?

Maybe I'm loosing something in the translation.

Commonwealth is a great venue but I'm wondering how it's looking and feeling with those crowds under two thousands sitting in their seats across the track.

Lines will be painted on the pitch pretty soon I'd imagine.

[sounderfan]

Attendance posted on USL site as 3107.

http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2004/1076763.html

[Free kick]

Did anyone get the attendance from Saturday's home game? If I am not mistaken, these were the first two home games were they not? One thing that did impress me was the amount of quality preseason media coverage that was reading through the internet ( may have even been posted here) that was coming of from Edmonton. By quality, I mean not the tombstone kind of coverage like your bound to see locally here where its nothing more than the teams playing, the score, the goal scorers and maybe the attendance. Instead, I was reading things like articles with quotes from players. That piece quoting Chris Lemire's impressions of the A-league was very refreshing and rare for a-league coverage. I have to agree with his assessment from what I have seen that it is a league of veterans who like to keep it simple. The play realy reflects that.

Having said that, I would say that I am a little dissappointed that there weren't more 3K and change at the game. These are afterall the first games for the club and I thought that the curiosity factor would yield much larger numbers.

[beachesl]

No way it was 3,107! Couldn't have been half of that. Lot's of parents dropping the kid's off and heading home to watch the hockey game. It was just over 1,000, far less people than at the opener. Somebody is cooking the figures. About 800 at 6:00 pm kickoff, 1,100 - 1,200 at the end of the Men's game, back down to 700-800 at the end of the Women's game at 10:30 pm. Makes for a long evening, these double-headers, though usual glorious Edmonton evening (sun stayed beaming on the East stand until 8:40 when it went behind the West stand, wasn't dark at all until 11:00). Women Av's lost 2-1.

Free Kick, the official attendance on Sunday's opener was "1,917", fairly accurate, and maybe there were a few more with all the people involved in the opening ceremonies.

Did notice the handheld digital clicker tonight, but as the lady at the gate said, "darn thing not working again, go ahead...".

Jeremy, you posted at 8:37 local time, you didn't stay for the women's game?

Quality coverage in local media...hmmm, some page 5 articles the day before, of and after mathces, but not much. The Av's office dropped the ball. Hear that they refused help from the good people that got the franchise idea off the ground in the fall of 2002, and since then the whole endeavour has been going downhill. Don't feel sorry for the investors, they put their trust in some real duds in front office, feel sorry for the fans and the players. No fans coming out for "curiousity", the ones showing up (at least the ones over 20) are real knowledgeable soccer fans from the reactions t what was happening on the pitch. As another poster pointed out a few days ago, there has been no "buzz" created, and that is essential for a Prairie place like Edmonchuck. There were some of the board going around giving out packages of "Bamm Bamm" (plastic thunder)sticks tonight, talking to the crowd trying to get interest in the season going, though. One guy I talked to (going around with his daughter) said that they had to try something different. He said that they would like to start a recreational centre with a 10,000- 15,000 stadium , with lots of extra playing fields and a wavepool, somewhere in an area farther away from West Edmonton Mall. Good to have vision, but he didn't really sound too hopeful. He also said they were considering changing the ticket price structure so that large families could afford to come, but said that they were financially restricted as to what they could do. He said that the big cost was transport, he said it averaged about $100,000 for every away match.

Got to say that I was impressed with the Men players mingling with the crowd after the match, especially Rick Titus, who went to gret lengths to work the crowd (strobe_z, got Rick to autograph a programme for you, "To G----"). Georges Laroque of the Oilers was also in the crowd...boy that guy has a lot of class in the way that he stays in and supports the Edmonton community, in and out of season!

MEN'S MATCH</u>

As Jeremy said the, formation was 3-5-2, perhaps more like 3-1-4-2, with Titus playing a central back midfielder in a diamond defence. The problem was that there was no change in the formation through the whole game, even with the substitutes, and even if the Av's were being stymied in midfield the whole game. Ongaro did not instill confidence tonight. Seattle's whole midfield were the men-of-the match, they won just about all the contests, and the Av's seldom penetrated it. Also good was Roger Levesque (probably my man-of-the-match, he gave the Av's defence fits all night, and was continually getting fouled and giving his team free kicks) and their goalkeeper. As best I could tell, Seattle palyed a 3-2-3-2 formation through most of the match, the 2-3 in midfiled really switchng positions a lot.

The Sounder Men's goal at 15' was due to defensive confusion, partially caused by Levesque's presence in the box (even if he was not directly involved) with Campi frozen by the cross from Callaghan on the left to Welton (Campi's only real mistake) and the defence not sure who to mark). Seattle was content to sit back after that, and the Av's were largely uninspired in trying to get past the Sounder midfield. The best Av player tonight was definitely little Gordon Chin, who was a terror on the right side and the middle, the only Av player playing with any passion (he reminded me of Bellamy in his tiredlessness). The Av's definitely lacked the spark and agression they had on Sunday[xx(].

WOMEN'S MATCH</u>

The Women Av's outplayed the Sounder ladies in the first 15 minutes, but then were clearly edged out in play for the rest of the game, clearly discouraged from the own goal. The own goal was created when the central defender attempted to head the forwrd pass just in front of the Av box, but either she hit it too hard or did not notice that our Goalie was just a few feet from her-the header went over the goalkeeper and into the goal. The same defender also nearly cause an own goal in the second half with a back pass. The responding goal by Luciani at 28' was a bit of a fluke, and a bit of a surpise. It didn't seem to inspire the Av's much. It was only a matter of time before the Sounders were going to score again, and if it weren't for the fact that the linsman in the second half gave several offsides against the main Sounder attacker Mueller, and the fact that the goalkeeper for the Av's, Sian Bagshawe, suddenly became good after 10' in the second half,the Sounders would have scored many more. Mueller did finally score the winner. The Av's attack was pathetic in the second half, mainly composed of an unbalnced attack up the right side, where their best players (defender Aikenhead, Av's best player Northover on right midfield and right forward Luciani) were. However, all the Sounders had to do was concentrate players on the right side and they were able to stop the Av's attck. The Av's never mounted more than one or two attacks in the centre or left, and seldom were able to penetrate the box. The Sounder's GK usually just had to handle feeble balls into the box, and then sent the ball back out on the Av's left unopposed. The Sounder attack was very well balanced and quick. The Av's big weakness is defence, and they were lucky Bagshawe suddenly got hot in the scond half.

Sian Bagshawe replacing Sunday's lukwarm Reid seemd a real blunder, she was completely disorganized, fumbling and out of position, until 10 minutes into the second half. Then she was very good in stopping shots and holding onto them. Hopefully Labbe will provide some consistency when she gets back from the U-19 tournament.

Not impressed with the ref in the Women's match, he seemed biased towards the lady Sounders in failing to call their fouls. The only card (I remember) was given for an innocuous jersey tug by an Av player, which seemed out of proportion considering what the tough Sounder girls were dishing out. How many women ref's do the USL have, haven't seen any in the two doubleheaders?

Having said what I did about the Women Avs failure to organize the defence and vary the attack, the tactics they applied tonight were still preferable to the tactics used by Pellerud in Costa Rica.

[DoyleG]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

Did anyone get the attendance from Saturday's home game? If I am not mistaken, these were the first two home games were they not? One thing that did impress me was the amount of quality preseason media coverage that was reading through the internet ( may have even been posted here) that was coming of from Edmonton. By quality, I mean not the tombstone kind of coverage like your bound to see locally here where its nothing more than the teams playing, the score, the goal scorers and maybe the attendance. Instead, I was reading things like articles with quotes from players. That piece quoting Chris Lemire's impressions of the A-league was very refreshing and rare for a-league coverage. I have to agree with his assessment from what I have seen that it is a league of veterans who like to keep it simple. The play realy reflects that.

Having said that, I would say that I am a little dissappointed that there weren't more 3K and change at the game. These are afterall the first games for the club and I thought that the curiosity factor would yield much larger numbers.

I can't make the games due to my work sked. I do know of two things from tonight.

One the good side: The weather was excellent.

The bad side: Game 5 of the Stanley Cup.

[seether]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

No way it was 3,107! Couldn't have been half of that. It was just over 1,000, far less people than at the opener. Somebody is cooking the figures.

Thats pretty much standard practice

[beachesl]

Yeah, much of the A-League is bad at this according to posters at bigsoccer. Rochester has been especially guilty according to visiting Impact and Lynx fans, and maybe Seattle has been mentioned as the worst offender in the West.

[beachesl]

Sun Article on matches:

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Sports/2004/06/04/485260.html

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dots don't quite connect

SCOTT ZERR, EDMONTON SUN

The Edmonton Aviators painted, carved and sculpted enough quality scoring chances to fill a museum. However, the finished product was no Rembrandt. More like a connect-the-dots creation that somehow lost its way.

The Seattle Sounders carried Welton Melo's 16th-minute goal to a 1-0 victory over the Aviators in front of 3,107 at Commonwealth Stadium last night.

That makes it two full home games that the Avs haven't managed a goal and now six matches on the year that have produced just a pair of markers. If head coach Ross Ongaro wasn't feeling the heat before last night, he should be sweating now.

The Aviators had the Sounders under the gun for a 20-minute barrage of offensive opportunties early in the second half, but Seattle survived.

"It's the single most difficult skill in the world," said Ongaro of a finishing touch. "There's a lot of guys real nervous right now because they haven't put the ball in the back of the net.

"They're feeling it and it's now game six and they still haven't scored. They're a little apprehensive, but they have to fight through it."

This was a golden opportunity for the Aviators (0-2-4), not just to score, but to pick up that elusive first win.

The Sounders (3-3-1) were playing their second road game in two nights and coming off a 2-1 loss in Calgary, so the defeat was a double dose of hurt for the Aviators, with divisional rivals each earning three points in a 24-hour span.

"They were there for the taking," said Chris Handsor, a second-half sub who sparked the Aviators' offensive thrust.

"They scored an early goal which kind of hurt us, but we should have attacked them a lot more than we did. We just didn't execute. We just couldn't put it in the back of the net."

There were plenty of times the Aviators could have - and should have - buried one past Seattle 'keeper Preston Burpo during the second-half onslaught:

- Off a throw-in into the box, Freddy Akok redirects the ball over the crossbar.

- On a wild scramble from a corner kick, Handsor chips the ball back into the mix and Lemire wires a low drive off the far post. Akok then hammered the rebound into a blocking defender.

"A little bit luckier, it would have hit the inside of the post and went in but we just weren't lucky," said Lemire.

The misfortune only got worse:

- Akok again lofts one over the bar on a throw-in.

- A terrific run by Akok sets up Gordon Chin at the top of the box and he fires one over the bar.

- In the dying moments, Chin dangles his way through the defence, reaching the top of the box and his deflected shot narrowly slips past the post.

"We're definitely happy with the number of chances but we're not happy with the number we converted," offered Chin. "We were good in spurts but not good enough."

Ongaro maintained faith in his strikers, particularly the pressure they applied with a restructured attacking midfield, but coming close to scoring can't cut it any longer.

"Anybody who's in a slump has to fight through it," said Ongaro. "For goal-scorers it's a difficult situation to be in, but ultimately that's what they have to do. It's the hardest thing for a forward to do - get the first goal. Then after that things seem to go their way. They gotta get on a roll and they will.

"Once I've selected my team, it's because I've got faith in them and I will continue to work with them. Developing a goal-scorer doesn't happen overnight. It takes time."

Melo's goal, his third of the season, came on a 3-on-3 break with Sean-Michael Callahan - fresh from a three-game suspension - put over a cross that Melo neatly headed past Jose Luis Campi.

The Aviators women's side let first place in the W-League's Western Conference slip from their grasp with a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders.

W-LEAGUE: The Aviators (3-2) erased an own-goal deficit in the 27th minute when Tara Luciani let go with a perfect strike from just inside the 18-yard box and found the far post past Seattle 'keeper Meghan Miller. The Sounders (2-0-1) regained the lead just three minutes later as Aviators 'keeper Sian Bagshawe made her second miscue as her late charge out allowed Brenda Mueller to walk in for an easy marker.

Bagshawe redeemed herself with a pair of quality saves in the second half, but the Aviators' offence sputtered the rest of the way in trying to knot things up.

FLIGHT PLAN: The men's team is off until next Thursday in Portland while the women's side travels to Colorado for games Monday in Fort Collins and Tuesday in Denver.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

IMHO, I didn't see the Men's rally attempt as a "barrage", the attacks really didn't look that promising to me. And after the "barrage" died down, Ongaro made no adjustments to the formation and approach, and the Sounders seemed to have no difficulty stymying the predictable Av's after that.

[DarnCherry]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Yeah, much of the A-League is bad at this according to posters at bigsoccer. Rochester has been especially guilty according to visiting Impact and Lynx fans, and maybe Seattle has been mentioned as the worst offender in the West.

Seattle isn't cooking up numbers anymore, nor are a few teams. I think Portland stopped doing it this year. From what I've read ont his board, Toronto is announcing the proper numbers. I think Rochester only cooks up the numbers when there are a lot of no shows that had bought tickets. I know a few years ago in Vancouver they'd announce crowds of 5100 when there were no more than 4000. With new ownership Vancouver stopped fudging the numbers.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Yeah, much of the A-League is bad at this according to posters at bigsoccer. Rochester has been especially guilty according to visiting Impact and Lynx fans, and maybe Seattle has been mentioned as the worst offender in the West.

Not sure about Rochester. A group of ultras went down to catch their opener. The weather was pretty bad, there were a couple of downpours and the whole stadium and pitch was pretty wet throughout the game. People could have been forgiven for staying away. yet, as I recall it, the facility was more than half full. Thats a conservative estimate given you could argue that 60-75% of the seats were occupied. They announced somewhere between 9-10K and I didn't have a problem believing that given that the facility looks roughly of the same capaicity as Varsity, or Molson stadium prior to renovations.